PA Governor Rendell Unveils New Tourism Channel; Presents $250,000 For UPMC- City of Pittsburgh Tourism Video

PA Governor Rendell Unveils New Tourism Channel; Presents $250,000 For UPMC- City of Pittsburgh Tourism Video

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- PA Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the introduction of "Discover Pittsburgh Country", (DPC), an innovative cable television marketing approach to promote the 11 county Pittsburgh Region as a tourism destination.

"I am excited about how 'Discover Pittsburgh Country' will help showcase the region to local residents and visitors," Governor Rendell said. "This project will help stimulate the regional economy and create new jobs in the tourism industry throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. I am delighted to be here in Pittsburgh to introduce this initiative."

The Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Uniontown, began the project through a study in 2001 on the development and financial feasibility of establishing a regional promotional tourism channel. The channel operates as Discover Pittsburgh Country and provides a cost-effective marketing opportunity to promote the region to visitors. It can be seen on Comcast Video on Demand that is currently in 350,000 homes reaching approximately 750,000 residents mostly in Allegheny County. Future plans include expanding the service to other cable providers in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The project was a regional effort supported by the City of Pittsburgh through Pittsburgh City Councilman William Peduto, Comcast, Pittsburgh Post- Gazette and the tourism promotion agencies in the 11 county region. Generous contributions were received from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Katherine B. Mavis Foundation, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau, Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, the PA Department of Community and Economic Development and an anonymous donor.

"This has been a tourism development effort to establish a new promotional vehicle to create awareness of the tourism and cultural opportunities in the region among visitors and local residents," said Michael W. Krajovic, President and CEO of Fay-Penn. "I appreciate the assistance of all of our partners in helping to make this a reality."

Discover Pittsburgh Country includes a feature segment "What's Happening Now" that is updated regularly to show visitors and residents video clips of upcoming events in the region. It is expected that viewers will begin to use this information when planning their activities.

"This cutting edge program will be a new tool for marketing the many hidden treasures in the region," said B.J. Leber, General Manager of WQED and Chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We want everyone to know that Southwestern Pennsylvania is a great place to live and visit."

"Comcast's local partnership with Fay-Penn and its Discover Pittsburgh Country program supports regional growth including travel and tourism initiatives by using innovative cable technology such as Comcast on Demand," said Brian R. Jeter, Director of Government & Community Affairs for Comcast. Discover Pittsburgh Country is now available via Comcast on Demand in the "Our Town" folder.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in its continued commitment to contribute to community development, has joined Discover Pittsburgh Country as a major partner by placing the video on its Web site that is accessed by more than 2 million visitors a month. This type of exposure to tourism opportunities will clearly have a major positive impact on the growth of the tourism industry.

To learn more about the project or about marketing opportunities, please contact Discover Pittsburgh Country at 724-779-7600 or Fay-Penn at 724-437- 7913.

To learn more about PA Tourism visit http://www.visitpa.com/.

CONTACT: Kate Philips
(717) 783-1116

Source: Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

CONTACT: Kate Philips, Pennsylvania Office of the Governor,
+1-717-783-1116

Web site: http://www.visitpa.com/

Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/

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